THE APPROACHING DARKNESS

Thunder rocked through the heavens. Sheik shook the rain from her eyes, and shifted her weight, waiting restlessly for him to arrive; she'd only seen him on a few occasions, when she imparted him with the ancient wisdom of music—the Song of Time, of Fire, of Water. He shared with her the Scarecrow song, and Sheik had tried not to laugh, fighting desperately to maintain the warrior persona she had so meticulously cultivated.

But now she gazed forlornly into the flames consuming Kakariko Village; the fire glinted in her blood red eyes, warning her of the terrible task that awaited her, of the enemy she had almost made herself forget, lost as she was in the charm of a pair of beautiful blue eyes.

She remembered the first time she saw him, looking so disoriented and confused in the Temple of Time. He seemed so afraid, so lost, so utterly unable to comprehend his transformation from a child to a man, seemingly overnight. She'd known he would step out of the temple to find an alien world—the ruined land of Hyrule. In his time, people had gathered at the foot of Hyrule Castle to revel with their neighbors; the taverns rang with laughter, the air was warm with merriment. That world was now dead. Now the inhuman beasts—the undead—lurked with their empty, unseeing eyes, forever staring into that infinite blackness to which Ganondorf hoped to consign humanity.

But he could change all that.

He had challenged Ganondorf's shadow and triumphed. Sheik remembered that moment, when he staggered from the Forest temple, his hair ragged with caked blood, his skin stained with dark bruises. She'd almost run to him, her heart leaping to her throat in fear that he'd been brutalized. Yet the eyes that leapt up to meet hers were a fierce, glittering blue, and his cheeks were flushed with the heat of victory. She'd forced down a relieved laugh at the dishevelment of his sleek armor, and she had to fight the urge to reach out and settle his green hat back upon his head, to smooth that hair down with her palms, to caress his cheeks with her fingers.

"Hello, Roostag," Sheik murmured instead.

Roostag waited, listening with a solemn expression that lent him an air of dignity that belied his youthful age as she imparted him with her wisdom.

He doesn't think of me as a woman, Sheik realized, with an uncomfortable twinge of remorse. He doesn't even see me, really. All I am is a means through which he can learn more songs. I am nothing to him.

"Thank you," Roostag said when she finished speaking, gracing her with an affectionate smile. He looked for a moment as though he would turn to leave her. The rejection stabbed Sheik as though he had thrust his Biggoron sword through her chest, parting her like gossamer.

She would leave before he had the chance to do it.

"Sheik," Roostag was saying, gazing out over the horizon as though gathering his courage. "Do you think—" his words died on his lips.

Sheik was gone.

Roostag stared at the tousled leaves where Sheik had stood just a moment before. For some reason, he suddenly felt very alone. Sheik was his one anchor in this chaotic new ;ad. And something about this warrior-- Roostag shook off that thought, unwilling to consider it

After all, he had a world to save.



And now she waited at Kakariko village, staring into the hungry flames. She vowed not to forget her purpose. She would never fall prey to that gaze again.

Over the distant horizon, she could see a figure approaching. The rider grew closer, and then she could just make out his form.

Roostag, she thought, feeling her stomach flutter.

Forcing her thoughts to the mission, the quest, Sheik buried her heart beneath the steel armor she wore.

Here we go.

THE END